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Weekend away in Montreal affords needed perspective on Toronto

We could learn from the spirit of Montreal projects like Expo 67 and its subway, built with a grandeur Toronto would have debated out of existence.

There is something about this sign at the Union Starion arrivals concourse that suggests a deeper connection east, to Montreal, a city that should have a closer relationship to Toronto but doesn’t, writes Shawn Micallef. (Shawn Micallef photo)

Montreal's great CIBC Tower (1962) was designed by the late Toronto architect Peter Dickinson who also did the Sony Centre. (Shawn Micallef photo)

Montreal's Griffintown has views similar to those seen from Toronto's
Distillery District. (Shawn Micallef)

Westmount Square in Montreal, designed by architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, is very similar to
Toronto's TD Centre.
(Shawn Micallef photo)

The Via train trip between Montreal and Toronto is fine, but imagine if there were a high-speed rail link that could cut the travel time? The cultural and economic ties would multiply, Micallef believes. (Peter Mccabe / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)

At the end of the Union Station arrivals concourse there is a red sign painted on the old tiles with the words “TO CITY” and “VILLE” in mismatched fonts separated by an old-school arrow pointing the way. Though it’s not unusual to see a bilingual sign, there is something about this one that suggests a deeper connection east, to Montreal, a city that should have a closer relationship to Toronto but doesn’t.

Last Friday I took the train to Montreal for the weekend. It was a festive ride with Toronto Maple Leafs fans aboard, on their way to see an archetypal Hockey Night in Canada game against the Canadiens on the rival team’s home ice. Throughout the weekend these fans could be seen on Rue Ste.-Catherine in their Leafs jerseys, shamelessly parading their lost cause. It was nice to see, albeit briefly, the two cities tangled up together so visibly.

In the early 2000s, an indie rock fan conflated the Toronto and Montreal music scenes, with their overlapping bands and sounds, into one imaginary Canadian place called “Monronto.” I don’t remember who said it, but I haven’t forgotten that lovely sentiment and the desire to lessen both the geography and perceived rivalry between our two cities.

A weekend away in Montreal affords some needed perspective on Toronto. At the wedding I was attending on Saturday, hours went by before somebody mentioned Rob Ford. Apparently there are other things to talk about. That is, until I brought up Rob Ford. Bad Torontonian habits are hard to break.

Coming from Toronto, the first few days in Montreal are awe-inspiring; a place that knew it was going to be the great Canadian city from the beginning, so it built itself accordingly. Crumbling sidewalks and bridges aside, Montreal dreamed big before and during its midcentury heydays. We could learn from the spirit of Montreal projects like Expo 67 and the subway system, built with a grandeur that historically parsimonious Toronto would quickly debate out of existence. The flip side is the debt accumulated from hosting the 1976 Olympics and the neighbourhoods it bulldozed for expressways and megaprojects.

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The visit also reminded me Toronto is a booming town. Though there are cranes in Montreal’s sky again after decades of little growth, its landscape is still pockmarked with parking lots. In Toronto, our once-vast stock of lots has mostly been filled in with the condos so many people complain about. We are the city Montreal once was, expanding in all directions.

Each city could use a little more of the other, but there are similarities, too. Both famously have underground cities spreading out from their train stations, connecting to buildings and malls. Think of the Via Train as a portal between the cities and it’s then one big, interprovincial indoor system. The space-age quality of Canadian cities is sometimes remarkable.

That Via train trip is fine, but imagine it on high-speed rail, a now decades-old plan that would let us zip back and forth in just a couple of hours, without inconvenient trips to airports and their attendant delays. The cultural and economic ties would multiply, but this old Monronto big-thinking dream seems about as quixotic as the one Leafs fans hold on to.

For now, I hope that odd little sign at Union will survive the massive renovation the station is undergoing, just to keep reminding us Montreal is still there, just down the tracks.

Shawn Micallef writes every Friday about where and how we live in the GTA. Wander the streets with him on Twitter @shawnmicallef

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